There are very few games out this week, but those which are being released are very good.

PlayStation 3-exclusive Starhawk hasn’t had a great deal of publicity but that could quite possibly change – early reviews are incredibly positive, including a 9.0 from IGN. “This is a smart shooter that understands what makes games fun,” they said. It’s a 32 player online shooter with a focus on strategy if you haven’t been paying attention to it. One nice extra is that the PSone semi-classic Warhawk can be downloaded for free via the online pass.

Then we have Cave’s shoot ’em up Akai Katana from Rising Star. The last game of this ilk – Donpachi Resurrection – was released during one of the biggest weeks of last year and missed out on sales because of it. It’s the only Xbox 360 game out this week so hopefully it’ll do a little better. If you’re not sure if it’s your type of thing, you could always try Donpachi Resurrection first – it can be found for around £10 these days.

If you’re feeling flush, Sony’s PlayStation 3D display is also out this week for just over £400. This isn’t one for the living room though – the screensize is a mere 24”.

Assuming you can class Minecraft as retro, there’s a retro theme going on in the world of downloads. Minecraft has finally hit the Xbox 360 while VVVVVV and Sonic Labyrinth has appeared on the 3DS eShop. Sega has also released two titles onto the Wii’s Virtual Console – Monster World IV and Wonder Boy in Monster Land.

Matt is Games Asylum's most prolific writer, having produced a non-stop stream of articles for the site since 2001. A retro collector and bargain hunter, his knowledge has been found in the pages of tree-based publication Retro Gamer.